Improbable? Perhaps. So it's all the more amazing that "An Inconvenient Truth" had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Tuesday night before an enthusiastic audience that gave the former vice president and his movie a big standing O.

Ohhhh, yeah. As someone who's been to Sundance, I can attest that is even "more amazing" that an Al Gore slideshow about environmentalism managed "a big standing O" at the festival. It's all hardcore righties out there, man. How Gore managed to persuade them, I'll never figure.

Among the film's lessons: Earth's glaciers are melting, the polar bears are screwed, each year sets new heat records. Al Gore sometimes flies coach. He also schleps his own bags.

The morning after his debut as leading man, Gore pronounces this whole Sundance thing "a most excellent time." He is wearing earth tones again. He seems jolly.

Well, he looks "jolly," too.

He brought Tipper and the kids. He is attending parties and posing for pictures with his fans and enjoying macaroni and cheese....